A paragliding instructor fell to his death after encountering a bout of turbulence during a test flight.

Paul Kilburn, 54, was flying alone ahead of escorting a group on a training exercise, an inquest heard.

But as the father-of-two headed back, his equipment suddenly got caught in a spin near a wooded area and crashed into a field.

Mr Kilburn, from Flixton , Trafford , was rushed to hospital but he died before he arrived after suffering multiple injuries.

An inquest heard the tragedy happened at 1pm on December 3 last year after the businessman, who ran his own paragliding training school Manchester Paragliders, was due to take up a group of fliers above the village of Pilling, Lancashire.

Mr Kilburn was using a paramotor - a harness-mounted engine which is worn like a backpack under a paraglider wing and can be launched from an open, flat field.

He had travelled to the commonly-used launch site with a group of friends, but decided to head out alone first as some were not ready to fly.

Paul Kilburn (Image: Cavendish Press (Manchester) Ltd)

An expert from the British Paragliding Association told the Preston inquest Mr Kilburn had gone out without his usual equipment, including a GPS tracker, as he only anticipated a short flight.

David Thompson said: “He took off and did about two or three circuits. He was flying with the wind along the line of the road.

“For part of that flight he was in contact with his brother-in-law. At some point he would have turned 180 degrees to come back.

“He flew in an area where there were houses and tall trees and that is when he started to spiral.

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“My suspicion is that he has entered some kind of turbulence and has entered into a spin or spiral. When you are flying along at height the only turbulence you encounter is caused by thermal activity or a wave of wind.”

Recording a conclusion of accidental death, coroner Richard Taylor said: “From what I have heard Paul was an experienced flyer doing something he loved and it seems he was so anxious to get flying that day that he went out on his own before his friends and didn’t have any GPS guidance on him.

“As he approached the tree line he must have hit turbulence and he was unable to correct a spin or spiral because of the height he had been at and sustained the injuries which proved fatal.”

Paul Kilburn (Image: Cavendish Press (Manchester) Ltd)

None of Mr Kilburn’s family gave evidence at the inquest, but at the time of the accident son Dale described the events as the ‘hardest day I’ve had’.

He wrote on Facebook: “I woke to a knock on the door with news my dad passed away in an accident.

“Nothing can prepare you for this. We’re all in pieces. It’s almost as if you’re going to run through the door and shout ‘surprise’ like the joker you were.

“I hope you’re flying high. Love you dad.”

(Image: Cavendish Press (Manchester) Ltd)

An initial investigation by the British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association said Mr Kilburn was seen flying at a ‘low level’ before crashing two to three miles away from the field he took off from.

Chairman Marc Asquith said Mr Kilburn disappeared from view shortly before hitting the ground and said there was no evidence of equipment failure or impact with power lines.

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In 2010 Mr Kilburn was hailed a hero after he helped save a family who were caught in rising tides off the coast of Fleetwood.

According to reports with low fuel, flying low over the sea a kilometre offshore and at some risk to himself, he shepherded two adults and five children from sandbar to sandbar.

He then stayed with them, flying circles above them to show the coastguard where they were.

He then headed back to land where his tank ran dry before landing.

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